Mexico Weekend: Jan 2010

[flyingwil]

Well the weekend all started with a F'n Facebook post when we found out someone hadn't ever been to Mexico.

Drive to Pinacate bisophere reserve north of Rocky Point, camp one night, hike around, check out the volcanoes and sand dunes, then spend another night camped on the beach.

Ahh the starting of a FUN weekend.

We started off meeting for Pizza, and heading south from Phoenix, to Sonora. En route, the man of honor's Jeep started to have some issues with the crankshaft position sensor, causing us to come to a stop in Maricopa. After allowing the senor to cool down on the Jeep, we were able to continue on our way. We attempted to find the part at the Napa along our route in Gila Bend, or Ajo. No luck until the following day. We pulled out the map, and picked a route to take us to some nice BLM land outside that would land us at the Napa store at 9am the next day when the part was to arrive.

Friday night's camp:

The necessities for setting up camp:

This trip we got a small $20 tent from Wal-Mart for the kids to use as a Toy-Tent, and it was filled with plenty of goodies!

The sunset was awesome!!!

Saturday will be in the next post....

 

[flyingwil]

So we had a good camp, and started off the morning with some awesome French Toast, Cheesy Eggs, and some bacon! Yummers!

The trails into camp was a bit muddy with the recent rains, and after joking "don't you know science" and sharing stories of prior boarder crossings with mud, we decided we would hit the coin op car wash prior to crossing into Mexico. As you can see we were all a bit muddy,

Its allways a good sign when you see this one:

We couldn't pass it up with out some pics!

We hit Napa about 10am, and it was then a bunch of us trying to figure out "where does this sensor go?" Please note the tool supervising us with his coffee... LOL

We gave up searching for it, and headed towards the boarder with the part in hand. Our plan was simple, we'll find a mechanic in Mexico and we'll give him $10 to show us where it goes and swap it out down there. At least we did not have to worry about being stuck on the side of the road at night. FlyingBaby was more than excited to head to the beach!

Boom! We made it to the fish market at Puerto Penasco, where we were going to grab lunch, some goodies, and some Shrimp!

We grabbed lunch above the place we were to buy the shrimp, and asked our waiter to get us a "mechanico." We got suckered into the place by the free margaritas, and the food was good.

The chips and salsa was yummers.

And the food followed and was outstanding!

Tourists must look funny taking pictures of their food... Yup, we look stupid, but it makes for cool posts on the internet.

 

[ttora4runner]

That last photo made me laugh for some reason.

Looks like a good time Wil. :sombrero:

I need to get out more.

 

[flyingwil]

Lunch gave the kids a good break to unwind from the drive down. The had fun.

While the waiter was getting us a "Mechanico", F'n Mark decided to get a new table cloth and try his luck at bartering at the shop across the street.

While he was shopping we relaxed while awaiting on the Mechanic.

10 min until the mechanic arrives! Sweet, then off to find camp. After we got our 10 min warning we headed into the market to get our goodies, and were soon met with the Mechanic.

 

[flyingwil]

Mechanic...

So the waiter ran over to us, with the Mechanic, and his tool box, and Bobby and the Mechanic headed to the Jeep.

The Mechanic was under the impression that the Jeep would not start, and instantly got to work starting the Jeep.

However, this was not our problem, it was the sensor and us not knowing where this sensor went. After F'n and I caught our breath from laughing so hard, Mark was able to spit out "we don't know where it goes" in Spanish while holding the sensor.

Luckily he knew right were it went, and got to work swapping the sensor for the Jeep.

And we were soon on our way to the beach!

 

[flyingwil]

We headed out the new paved roads, in search of some good beach camping. About 30 min outside of town we found the spot, and after letting 2 year old FlyingBaby drive us to camp, we settled in. FlyingBaby loves to drive! :victory:

Saturday was FlyingWen's Birthday, and we had some celebrations on the beach!

After some drinks, we went off to explore the beach.

Well some of us did, and others continued to celebrate!

 

[flyingwil]

That night we had a gorgeous sunset, and had a great dinner.

I had to pimp my new rock lights...

The next day I took FlyingBaby out to check out the tide pools, and we walked out towards the Gulf for about a 30 min before turning around. This point made it all much better when it was her and I, and she tells me: "Daddy, I so exciting, Keeley and Daddy on beach. Camping is FUN!"

All and all it was an outstanding weekend, crammed with adventure, good friends, and fun. I look forward to the next one.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Wil, and crew, looks like a fun trip. I surely wish Mexico was so close to me. I'm also glad to see you werent "afraid" to take the kiddos as well! Even having gone over the border a couple times in the last few years and only having POSITIVE experiences, I still cant convince my wife that it is safe for us to go. In due time though!

I hope there is more to this story?

 

[flyingwil]

Wil, and crew, looks like a fun trip. I surely wish Mexico was so close to me. I'm also glad to see you werent "afraid" to take the kiddos as well! Even having gone over the border a couple times in the last few years and only having POSITIVE experiences, I still cant convince my wife that it is safe for us to go. In due time though!

I hope there is more to this story?

To be honest this was not either kids first time in Mexico! It was some other older peoples!

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

To be honest this was not either kids first time in Mexico! It was some other older peoples!

Even better. My wife is quite the overprotective, highly imaginative, paranoid type, especially when it comes to the safety of our kiddo. My wife on the other hand is down for just about any sort of travel!

I liked the first set of pics in the desert, btw. You guys really need to check out the Sierra Madres oriental in eastern Mexico south and east of Monterrey. I can provide you with lots of good GPS tracks.:sombrero: PM me if you are interested in some trip reports and said GPS tracks.

 

[7wt]

One of the best trip reports I have seen in a long time. Thanks very much for posting this.

 

[Haggis]

You tell a good yarn, sir. I especialy like the obvious mix of fun, laughter and love of family. Looks like a fun weekend was had by all!

Tourists must look funny taking pictures of their food...

What, doesn't everyone mod rigs so that photos of delectible food can be taken in awesome places? :elkgrin:

 

[Wes Craiglow]

I had to pimp my new rock lights...

Sweet. Just when I thought your truck couldn't get much cooler, you turn it into a discotheque. Where's the mirrorball?

Seriously, great trip report. Glad y'all had fun and stayed safe... When I took my daughter into Central America last year, friends and family thought I was crazy. However, it's trips like these, into different cultures in sometimes uncomfortable situations, where we learn that challenging ourselves is key to growth. Kudos to you and Wen for opening the eyes of FlyingBaby at such a young age! She'll grow up better for it.

And Happy Bday Wen!

Thx for sharing!

 

[articulate]

Wil, you're fast. Great pictures too!

More pictures coming soon...

 

[flyingwil]

Wil, you're fast. Great pictures too!

More pictures coming soon...

Thanks, still learning the camera! Can't wait to see your pics!